1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having a zoom function, a controlling method thereof, and a control program (recording medium) thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a problem in a camera mounted with a high-magnification zoom lens having, for example, a magnification of 10× or 20×. In shooting a subject from a distance with the zoom lens positioned at the wide-angle end side, the coverage range tends to shift as the zoom lens zooms in toward the telephoto side because of camera shake. As a result, the subject is no longer included in the coverage range and the camera loses sight of the subject.
Even when an attempt is made to once again place the subject within the coverage range, the further the zoom lens is positioned towards the telephoto side, the more difficult it is to determine the current imaging area. Accordingly, the position of the subject needs to be reconfirmed by the zoom lens being returned to the wide-angle side, or the subject is searched by trial and error with the zoom lens still being positioned on the telephoto side.
To solve this problem, a technology has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2007-208937) in which the position of the camera itself is measured by a global positioning system (GPS) receiving device, the shooting direction is measured by a direction sensor, and the shooting angle is measured by a zoom factor of the lens. Whether or not a subject is within the angle-of-view is judged based on the measured values, and a shooting guide or marker indicating the direction of the subject is displayed on a screen of the monitor.
However, there is a problem in a digital camera adopting the above-described conventional technology in that a GPS receiving device, a direction sensor, and the like are required to be mounted. This affects the reduction of product size, and since a power supply for driving each device is required, the battery life is shortened if it is a battery-powered digital camera.